Marianne J. Dyson recounts for us a time when women were making the first inroads into space flight control, a previously male-dominated profession. The story begins with the inspiration of the Apollo 11 landing on the Moon and follows the challenges of pursuing a science career as a woman in the 70s and 80s, when it was far from an easy path.

Dyson relates the first five space shuttle flights from the personal perspective of mission planning and operations in Houston at the Johnson Space Center, based almost exclusively on original sources such as journals and NASA weekly activity reports. The book’s historical details about astronaut and flight controller training exemplify both the humorous and serious aspects of space operations up through the Challenger disaster, including the almost unknown fire in Mission Control during STS-5 that nearly caused an emergency entry of the shuttle.

From an insider with a unique perspective and credentials to match, this a must-read for anyone interested in the workings of NASA during one of its busiest and defining times, and the challenges faced by women pursuing scientific careers.

Marianne Dyson was inspired by Apollo to become one of the first women flight controllers for NASA during the early space shuttle program. She has an undergraduate degree in physics and enjoys sharing her passion for space at schools, museums and conferences. She has served as a technical reviewer for Scholastic, Enslow, National Geographic and Hampton Brown. Her children’s books have won the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrator’s Golden Kite and the American Institute of Physics Science Writing awards and have been translated into multiple languages and excerpted for use in numerous state reading tests. A frequent contributor to Ad Astra, the magazine of the National Space Society, her science articles and science fiction stories for adults and children have appeared in national magazines and anthologies. She is currently coauthoring a children’s book about Mars with Buzz Aldrin for National Geographic.

“The book is well written, and flows energetically with a diarist’s detail through all the many assignments to which she was entrusted at NASA … . This book encourages, inspires, and delights, and should be on the reading list of everyone – educators, scientists, and particularly women – scientists or not.” (Elizabeth Griffin., The Observatory, Vol. 136 (1255), December, 2016)